Retinopathy is a Strong Determinant of Atherosclerosis in Type 2 Diabetes: Correlation with Carotid Intima Media Thickness

Diabetic Retinopathy as a Predictor of Angiographic Coronary Atherosclerosis Severity in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

BACKGROUND

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the most prevalent consequences of diabetes mellitus (DM). Much emphasis has been focused on the link between DR and cardiovascular disorders in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). However, there is little information about the relation between the degree of DR and coronary atherosclerosis severity in Egyptian patients.

AIM

To assess the correlation between the degree of DR and the coronary atherosclerosis severity in T2DM.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This work included 140 diabetic patients with T2DM who underwent diagnostic coronary angiography because of suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). All participants were evaluated by history, fundus assessment, laboratory tests (lipid profile and glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c]), and selective coronary angiography. The severity of coronary artery lesion was detected by Gensini score and vessel score.

RESULTS

Patients with DR had a significantly higher Gensini score (67.86± 44.56 versus 5.93± 9.02, P < 0.001) and a vessel score (2.29± 0.86 versus 0.50± 0.66, P < 0.001). There was a significant relation between the degree of DR, Gensini score (P < 0.001), and vessel score (P < 0.001), as both scores increased according to the severity of DR. The presence and degree of retinopathy were the only independent factors linked to the severity score in multivariate linear regression analyses (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The presence and degree of DR are independent predictors of severe coronary atherosclerosis. Therefore, when evaluating whether a patient with T2DM is at high risk for CAD, the DR degree should be taken into consideration.

The risk of micro and macrovascular disease in Egyptian patients with diabetes and peripheral arterial disease

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of micro- and macrovascular disease in Egyptian patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Methods: The study included 161 Egyptian patients with DM and PAD (91.3% had type 2 DM and 67.1% were females). Mean diabetes duration was 14.2 ± 5.2 years. Full history, clinical and fundus examination as well as laboratory investigations were done. PAD was diagnosed through assessment of ankle/brachial index (ABI) by Doppler ultrasonography. Results: ABI was <0.9 in 33.5% and >1.3 in 66.5% of patients. A significant positive correlation was found between abnormal ABI and diabetes duration, ischemic heart disease (IHD), diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy, foot ulcers, elevated blood pressure (BP), creatinine, urine albumin/creatinine ratio (ACR) and triglycerides and a significant negative correlation with HDL. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that the independent predictors for PAD in patients with ABI< 0.9 were neuropathy, creatinine, triglyceride, LDL, urine ACR and low HDL, and in patients with ABI >1.3 were IHD, neuropathy, elevated diastolic BP and triglyceride. Conclusion: The risk of micro- and macrovascular disease is high in Egyptian patients with diabetes and PAD. Early diagnosis and good control of risk factors could reduce PAD progression.

Association Between Atherosclerosis and Diabetic Retinopathy in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

AIM

To explore the association between the atherosclerosis and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHODS

This hospital-based cross-sectional study included 949 patients (700 males and 249 females) with T2DM. The atherosclerotic parameters were assessed using the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), ankle-brachial index (ABI), and carotid plaque. DR was assessed and graded using digital retinal photography and fundus fluorescein angiography as either nonproliferative DR (NPDR) or proliferative DR (PDR). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the associations between the atherosclerotic parameters and DR status.

RESULTS

The prevalence of DR was 23.6% in total patients, including 167 (17.6%) patients with NPDR and 57 (6.0%) patients with PDR. Patients with NPDR and PDR were more likely to have higher prevalence of increased CAVI, increased ABI, and carotid plaque than those without DR. In multivariable adjusted logistic regression analysis, patients with NPDR showed an odds ratio (OR) of 2.59 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.61-4.19] for increased CAVI, 1.99 (0.62-6.34) for increased ABI, and 1.75 (1.13-2.71) for carotid plaque. Patients with PDR showed an OR of 7.83 (3.52-17.41) for increased CAVI, 10.65 (3.33-34.04) for increased ABI, and 11.40 (2.67-48.63) for carotid plaque.

CONCLUSION

Both NPDR and PDR were independently associated with increased CAVI and presence of carotid plaque in Chinese patients with T2DM.

Association between diabetic eye disease and other complications of diabetes: Implications for care. A systematic review

The aim of this systematic review was to examine the associations between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and the common micro- and macrovascular complications of diabetes mellitus, and how these could potentially affect clinical practice. A structured search of the PubMed database identified studies of patients with diabetes that assessed the presence or development of DR in conjunction with other vascular complications of diabetes. From 70 included studies, we found that DR is consistently associated with other complications of diabetes, with the severity of DR linked to a higher risk of the presence of, or of developing, other micro- and macrovascular complications. In particular, DR increases the likelihood of having or developing nephropathy and is also a strong predictor of stroke and cardiovascular disease, and progression of DR significantly increases this risk. Proliferative DR is a strong risk factor for peripheral arterial disease, which carries a risk of lower extremity ulceration and amputation. Additionally, our findings suggest that a patient with DR has an overall worse prognosis than a patient without DR. In conclusion, this analysis highlights the need for a coordinated and collaborative approach to patient management. Given the widespread use of DR screening programmes that can be performed outside of an ophthalmology office, and the overall cost-effectiveness of DR screening, the presence and severity of DR can be a means of identifying patients at increased risk for micro- and macrovascular complications, enabling earlier detection, referral and intervention with the aim of reducing morbidity and mortality among patients with diabetes. Healthcare professionals involved in the management of diabetes should encourage regular DR screening.

The Relationship between Carotid Intima-Media Thickness and Ocular Circulation in Type-2 Diabetes

Purpose

To compare clinical findings, including ocular blood flow and intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid artery, in mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and no diabetic retinopathy (NDR) patients, and to determine risk factors contributing to mild NPDR.

Methods

In 129 subjects (129 eyes) with type-2 diabetes patients and mild NPDR or NDR, standard statistical techniques were used to determine associations between clinical findings, including diabetes duration, blood levels of creatinine and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), central macular thickness (CMT; measured with optical coherence tomography), mean blur rate (MBR; measured with laser speckle flowgraphy), and ultrasound-measured carotid IMT.

Results

Diabetes duration, IMT, and CMT were significantly higher in the mild NPDR patients than the NDR patients (P=0.004, P=0.004, and P=0.003, respectively), while conversely, MBR in the overall optic nerve head (MBR-A) was lower in the mild NPDR patients. Furthermore, a logistic regression analysis showed that diabetes duration (OR, 1.11; P=0.006), diastolic blood pressure (OR, 0.93; P=0.025), heart rate (OR, 1.07; P=0.004), IMT (OR, 8.65; P=0.005), and CMT (OR, 1.03; P=0.007) were independent contributing factors to mild NPDR. Spearman's rank correlation test also showed that IMT was negatively correlated with MBR-A (P=0.011).

Conclusions

Increased IMT showed a close association with ocular ischemia in patients with type-2 diabetes and contributed to the presence of mild NPDR. These findings suggest that IMT may be an early biomarker of mild NPDR.

The Relationship between Peripheral Nerve Conduction Velocity and Ophthalmological Findings in Type 2 Diabetes Patients with Early Diabetic Retinopathy

PURPOSE

Nerve conduction velocity (NCV) is an indicator of neuronal damage in the distal segment of the peripheral nerves. Here, we determined the association between NCV and other systemic and ocular clinical findings, in type 2 diabetes patients with early diabetic retinopathy (DR).

METHODS

This study included 42 eyes of 42 type 2 diabetes patients (median age: 54 years) with no DR or with mild nonproliferative DR. Standard statistical techniques were used to determine associations between clinical findings.

RESULTS

Sural sensory conduction velocity (SCV) and tibial motor conduction velocity (MCV) were significantly lower in mild nonproliferative DR patients than patients with no DR (P = 0.008 and P = 0.01, resp.). Furthermore, logistic regression analyses revealed that sural SCV and tibial MCV were independent factors contributing to the presence of mild nonproliferative DR (OR 0.83, P = 0.012 and OR 0.69 P = 0.02, resp.). Tibial MCV was correlated with choroidal thickness (CT) (P = 0.01), and a multiple regression analysis revealed that age, tibial MCV, and carotid intima-media thickness were independent associating factors with CT (P = 0.035, P = 0.015, and P = 0.008, resp.).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that reduced NCV may be closely associated with early DR in type 2 diabetes patients. Thus, reduced nerve conduction is a potential early biomarker of DR.

Plasma adiponectin and carotid intima-media thickness in non-obese patients with type 2 diabetes

AIM

We assessed the correlation between plasma adiponectin levels and carotid intima media thickness (IMT), as a marker of atherosclerosis, in non-obese patients with type 2 diabetes.

METHODS

The study group included 112 (60 males and 52 females) non-obese Egyptian patients with type 2 diabetes. Fasting plasma adiponectin was measured using ELISA technique. Carotid IMT was assessed using high-resolution color- coded Doppler ultrasonography. Forty age, sex and weight matched normal Egyptian subjects were included in the study as a control group.

RESULTS

A non-significant inverse correlation was found between plasma adiponectin levels and carotid IMT in the study group (p=0.054). Multiple regression analysis revealed that plasma adiponectin was not a determinant of carotid IMT in the study group (p=0.061).

CONCLUSION

The inverse relation between plasma adiponectin and carotid IMT in type 2 diabetes could be explained, at least partially, by obesity.

Type 2 diabetes-associated carotid plaque burden is increased in patients with retinopathy compared to those without retinopathy

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality among subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D), and diabetic retinopathy (DR) has been associated with an increased risk for CVD. The present study was designed to test the concept that T2D patients with DR, but without previous cardiovascular (CV) events and with normal renal function, have an increased atherosclerotic burden compared with patients without DR.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed using patients with normal renal function (estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) >60 ml/min) and without previous CV events. A total of 312 patients (men, 51%; mean age, 57 yrs; age range 40–75 yrs) were included in the study; 153 (49%) of the patients had DR. B-mode carotid ultrasound imaging was performed for all of the study subjects to measure the carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and carotid plaques in the common carotid artery (CCA), bifurcation and internal carotid artery (ICA).

Results

The percentage of carotid plaques in T2D patients with DR was higher than in T2D patients without DR (68% vs. 52.2%, p = 0.0045), and patients with DR had a higher prevalence of ≥2 carotid plaques (44.4% vs. 21.4%; p < 0.0001). No differences were observed in the cIMT measured at different carotid regions between the patients with or without DR. Using multivariate logistic regression (adjustment for major risk factors for atherosclerosis), DR was independently associated with mean-internal cIMT (p = 0.0176), with the presence of carotid plaques (p = 0.0366) and with carotid plaque burden (≥2 plaques; p < 0.0001).

Conclusions

The present study shows that DR in T2D patients without CVD and with normal renal function is associated with a higher atherosclerotic burden (presence and number of plaques) in the carotid arteries. These patients may be at a higher risk for future CV events; therefore, an ultrasound examination of the carotid arteries should be considered in patients with DR for more careful and individualised CV assessment and follow-up.